Finally earned your college diploma and made mom and dad so proud? About 1.6 million graduates comprise the college Class of 2014, according to national numbers.
Now, it gets real. You don’t want to move back home. You’d like to eat. You need a job.
If you're in Atlanta, you're in luck. Or at least better off than in many cities, according to rankings released today by MarketWatch.com.
Atlanta takes the No. 1 spot in the list of top 10 U.S. cities for recent college graduates, the report states.
According to the findings, the average salary of $43,000 for recent grads is 21 percent higher in Atlanta than the national average. And as one of three cities tied — with Raleigh and Houston — for the average lowest rent, it’s easy on the wallets of those just starting out.
There are also plenty of big-name companies in town, including some such as The Coca-Cola Co., Home Depot and Delta Air Lines, headquartered in Atlanta.
At No. 6, Raleigh is the only other southeast U.S. city to make the list, which includes Dallas, Houston, St. Louis and Minneapolis/St. Paul in the top five.
Itching to move away and start a career somewhere else? Grads make more money in No. 10 Washington, D.C., according to the report. But you’ll pay $1,600 for a one-bedroom apartment in the nation’s capital.
You can cut your rent costs in half in Atlanta, the report states. And that will also make mom and dad proud.
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